HOME

How to Order

Dosing Technique For Silvia - (short) - Back

Link to longer version.

Options for dosing the basket are:

1. Dosing by weight or volume and firm tamping.
2. Dosing by weight or volume with no tamping or very light soft tamping.

If you are using firm tamping you must do it right, the tamped coffee puck must fit perfectly to the screen above, meaning, the top of the puck must be even to provide uniform pressure on the puck, before and after the soaking of the coffee. 

Cons for firm tamping: time consuming, high demand for high precision and accuracy, the extraction is somewhat less efficient in using the total space for the same amount of coffee with soft tamping.

Pros for firm tamping: somewhat cleaner, improves fine-motor coordination.

My preference and recommendation is dosing by weight with a very light soft tamp: it is less massy and more simple to achieve good results.

When your set-up is unknown, start with dosing by volume.  If you do it right, after the extraction you should have a good imprint of the screen over the top of the coffee puck. (See picture below)

Measurement by volume will always give you the right default amount. Then adjust the grind to control and adjust the extraction time.

When you correctly have the volume amount and grind level set, assuming you are going to use the same batch of beans, you can convert the volume to weight and repeat dosing by weight.

When dosing by volume. Let the grind fall to the basket, do not push or press it in.  If you feel you have too many large clumps in the coffee grind, you can tap down the portafilter on a hard surface with a very small consistent tap.

• Scrape the top flat.
• You can use any tamper you like, but do not use more then 1 Kilo of pressure,  the screen must do the final pressing.  A simple light plastic tamper will help prevent too hard a tamp. 
• Connect the portafilter and start the brew. Do not use pre-infusion or any other tricks.
• Right after the brew, remove the portafilter and observe the imprint of the screen.  You must have a good imprint (see picture page for good indentation). 
• If you have no imprint or light imprint, you need more coffee. There is some factor that is throwing off the normal volume default and you need to adjust.
• If the puck refuses to come out of the basket with just a hard wrist shake, you used too much coffee, and/or too little extraction because of low water temperature and/or an insufficient amount of water washing the coffee. 
• Adjust the grind so the double basket (with fresh coffee) will yield 1.75oz. 50ml ± in 25 seconds ±5,  21 can be OK. too,  and sometime 30 or 40 seconds is OK too. If you do everything right, even a 50 seconds extraction will taste very good.   If the coffee is harsh bitter, a small part of the puck is over extracted or the extraction is too long by volume.

The imprint will look slightly different with different coffee.

What should you look for other than color and time. Flow should start and end symmetrical. Cone should be at centered. No spraying or gushers. Coffee puck should NOT have breaches, ruptures or leaks during the extraction. No dead spots on the basket where there is no flow. Less symmetry & gushers = more unwanted taste. Little and very fine mist is acceptable.

Pictures and videos.

• If you still are having problems and you want to give up, then use the larger basket Rancilio 18+ grams basket (40-100-103). but you will have to use more coffee, about at least 18 grams and more. 

• For a discussion of the perfect Italian espresso by an industry trade group, see the Instituto Nationale Espresso Italiano (PDF)  (or PDF here Instituto Nationale Espresso Italiano).

If you still having problems, please check that you don't have too dense clumps.

Online Store

Contact: pidsilvia@gmail.com

HOME